thiefly
UK/ˈθiːfli/US/ˈθifli/
thiefly adjective: like a thief; thievish.
Adjective
thiefly (comparative more thiefly, superlative most thiefly)
- Like a thief; thievish.
- Most patiently, with noiseless tread, I then did Make thro' those sumptuous halls my thiefly way, Until at last I reached the chamber splendid Where Hobart Chatfield Chatfield slumb'ring lay.1893, “The Lay of a Lake Forest Burglar”, in Town Topics, the Journal of Society, volume 30, page 24
- In bantering gusto he went right on with his thiefly enterprise.1949, Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, The Improvement Era - Volume 52, page 378
Adverb
thiefly (comparative more thiefly, superlative most thiefly)
- Like a thief; thievishly.
- What great is living so thiefly!!! (Like a thief).1983, David G. Smith, The Music Stops and the Waltz Continues, page 120
- Downyng described Sybbesoun as "a strong thief to Wood Mill, for truly he and his wife have procured my servant and my goods, that is to say wheat and rye by the bushel and the half, as thiefly and as un-truly as he might do."2008, Derek G. Neal, The Masculine Self in Late Medieval England, page 43
thiefly meaning in Tamil
thiefly in Tamil
- திருடனைப்போல, கள்வனைப்போல, திருட்டுத்தனமான, திருட்டுத்தனமாக, கள்ளத்தனமான, கள்ளத்தனமாக
Examples of thiefly in a sentence
- Rogues are characters with some expertise in thiefly abilities and more specialized knowledge of arms than that possessed by Fighters.1995, Coleman Charlton, Pete Fenlon, S. Marvin, Rolemaster Standard Rules, →ISBN:
- ...here he was, bent on one last thiefly act.2011, Ed Greenwood, Elminster: Making of a Mage, →ISBN:
Forms of thiefly
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more thiefly |
| superlative | most thiefly |
| alternative form (dialectal) | thievely |
| Adverb | |
| comparative | more thiefly |
| superlative | most thiefly |
Origin of thiefly
From Middle English theefly; equivalent to thief + -ly.
From Middle English thefly, þeefliche, þeofliche, equivalent thief + -ly.
Questions about thiefly
- What does thiefly mean?
- Thiefly means like a thief; thievish.
- What is thiefly in Tamil?
- Thiefly in Tamil is திருடனைப்போல, கள்வனைப்போல, திருட்டுத்தனமான. See Thiefly meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use thiefly in a sentence?
- Rogues are characters with some expertise in thiefly abilities and more specialized knowledge of arms than that possessed by Fighters.
- What part of speech is thiefly?
- Thiefly can be an adjective or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce thiefly?
- Thiefly is pronounced /ˈθiːfli/ (UK).
Words near thiefly in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: thiefly (page history and authors); thiefly (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “thiefly.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/thiefly. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.